Future’s Bright For Evan After Brilliant Brisbane Triumph

By Owen Morgan

Welsh tennis star Evan Hoyt has won his first ITF Futures singles competition since 2015.

The 23-year-old, who is battling back after serious injury, won the Australia F7 Futures Brisbane QTC Tennis International.

Hoyt, has competed in three ITF Futures events Down Under over the past month, winning the doubles title with American partner Dusty Boyer in Cairns, reaching the singles final in Darwin and now winning in Brisbane.

The right-hander got off to a flying start at the Queensland Tennis Centre, sweeping past Australia’s Jesse Delaney in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.

There was a tougher challenge in the round of 16 where Hoyt was taken to a tie break in the first set by American Christian Langmo.

However, he managed to take the decider nine points to seven, before winning the second set 6-3.
China’s Aoran Wang was lying in wait in the quarter finals, but was no match for the Welshman, who cruised to victory 6-0, 6-1.

There was a familiar face lying in wait in the semi-finals in the shape of Dusty Boyer, the man who partnered Hoyt to victory in Cairns.

http://twitter.com/HoytEvan/status/1048826275593248769

And it was the American who took started the stronger, becoming the first player to take a set off Hoyt in the competition.
However, the Llanelli Tennis Club product fought back to take the second set 6-3, and clinched a place in the final by running away with the deciding set 6-1.

Through to his second singles final in as many tournaments, Hoyt settled the better against American number eight seed Colin Sinclair and took the first set 6-4.

The second set was a closer affair, with Sinclair forcing a tie-breaker. But Hoyt wasn’t to be denied his first ITF Futures singles title since winning in Tunisia three years ago.

The Junior Davis Cup winner clinched the title by claiming the tie-breaker 7-5 to earn his fourth straight sets win of the competition.

Hoyt, who endured a spell of 18-months out of the game following a shoulder injury, is aiming to climb back up the ATP singles rankings, having reached a career high of 542 before his injury.

Before this weekend’s victory, Hoyt had reached a career high 383 in the doubles rankings and had moved up to 656 in the men’s rankings having ended 2017 at 1245.